Jim Harrison’s abundance of aphorisms in his piece Going Places made the understanding and the flow of the essay easy to follow. From his aphorisms, I learned some life lessons that although I have been told of before, I never thought to think twice about. Two aphorisms that stuck out to me from his essay that made me appreciate his story telling of his road trip experiences even more, circled around the idea of expanding your world and avoiding doubt and self-judgement. “Avoid irony, cynicism, and self-judgement.” This piece of advice that Harrison says towards the end of his essay made me stop and think about the many times I have gone out and done things with nothing but self-judgement on my mind. In a way, this aphorism made me realize how often I perceive things with cynicism and self-judgement, which made it that much better to relate to his essay. Self-judgement is a thought in my head constantly, but when he later says, “this is not the time to examine your shortcomings, which will certainly surface when you get home” in a way it made me feel relaxed as I read the rest of his essay. Shortly after his rant on the aphorism, he says, “If you’re not expanding, you’re growing smaller”, which made me think of both of these aphorisms hand in hand. …show more content…
In a way, I believe your world grows smaller if all one focuses on is the negative aspects of life. It is so important to get out of your comfort zone, experience new things, and devour some knowledge to expand the world you’re living in. I believe you’ll definitely get the best out of it when you do these things by avoiding self-judgement like Harrison notes. So, when Harrison continues to write about expanding and growing bigger towards the end of his essay, it gets me excited to continue reading what he has to say on the idea that I feel strongly about as
The theme of the text “Harrison Bergeron” is equality has its pro’s and con’s,the author's use of similes and metaphors helps develop the theme.First off,one element that help support this theme is honor. Humor helps support the theme because in the text,”Harrison Bergeron” it shows how employees can’t even do their jobs because they have their handicaps on,but Know one earns a better profit because they're the same.Another type of element the author uses is similes .In the text it says,”but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard”.That helps support the theme because if the leader or government puts handicaps com people they will get mad and try to escape their state or country.The theme in the article is equality has its pro’s and con’s this
That exact statement makes me or any reader feel that failure doesn’t always have to be perceived to be negative. Failure can improve personal growth. We are always scared out the outcome failure will bring, but that is the silver lining for our personal growth. If we concentrate more on the effort we put into a certain task, we can grow by the steps we take along the way. Anyone can succeed, no matter their
No one makes wise choices all the time, but those who follow their own aspirations make a person feel more alive. In fact, the people who go out and follow their dreams are explorers or achievers, but the vision of their dreams can become fatal. The reason for this is because they are following their dreams. Chris McCandless was a hitchhiker who went out into Alaska to get away from society and follow his “‘great Alaskan odyssey. (Krakauer 45)’”
Christopher McCandless, an American traveler, once said “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservation, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality, nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit.” This quote is far more universally applicable than originally thought to be. Throughout one’s life, one will undoubtedly experience some form of conformity. The driving factor in a majority of these moments is fear; fear of not fitting in, or of not living up to society’s expectations. The only thing that lets one escape conformity is the truth known from past experiences. This
My favorite question that Carol Dweck ask in this book is “If you are somebody when you are successful who are you when you are not successful?” Those moments of failures show a person’s true appeal. The growth mindset means that an individual will give more effort in solving problems in life.
In Kite Runner there are many lesson that could be learned and many things are shown to the reader that the author is trying to point out. “It may be unfair, but what happens in a few days, sometimes even a single day, can change the course of a whole lifetime, Amir” he said” (Hosseini 142). One thing you do can change your whole life and make things either more difficult or easier. The scene in which Baba tells Amir about Soraya past in Khaled Hosseini’s novel, The Kite Runner, is important because Hosseini uses it to establish one thing you do can change your whole life and make things either more difficult or easier through Soraya running off with a guy, Amir watching Hassan get raped, and Baba lies.
“He knew that the moment he allowed himself to feel to its fullness how he live the shame and misery of their lives, he would be swept out of himself with fear and despair.” This quote describes the situation bigger and his family are in. His fears and inner demons reminding him and fighting back of where his mind is really at. Wright uses this sentence to describe bigger and the works of his mind, the power his thoughts have over him if he surrendered. Thus showing weakness and the fear of accepting who he really is.
The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon. (Krakauer 57)” McCandless felt the trip was necessary to fill a void in him. He became so infatuated with adventure that he encouraged others to venture out and explore the world. Unfortunately for McCandless he was very stubborn.
I like this quote because it tells us the change in where humans think everything is good but once a modification is made everything can change. When that certain change is made, it can be painful depending on how you and mind handles it.
...iance, readers are capable of seeing how citizens in the world today try to be independent of others and sustain their personal beliefs and philosophy. Individuals have to put an end to conformity and trying to be a duplication of everyone else because they will never achieve success if they never decide for themselves. A person must not rely on the judgment and minds of others and learn to think for him or herself since depending on others only exhibits a person’s inferiority to larger institutions. People must stop using travel as an excuse to evade personal problems because if they do not have a direct confrontation with the dilemma, trying to escape will only lengthen it. People in today’s society must appreciate this work so they will approve of their individuality and be stronger in fighting against everyone else that disagrees with their personal philosophy.
A physical journey occurs as a direct result of travelling from one place to another over land, sea or even space. The physical journey can occur individually or collectively, but always involves more than mere movement. Instead physical journeys are accompanied by inner growth and development, catalysed by the experiences and the decisions that impact the outcome of the journey. These journey concepts and the interrelationship between physical and emotional journeys is exemplified in the text; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, the children’s book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and the film Stand By Me directed by Rob Reiner.
It is often said, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This example of an aphorism, a statement right to the point which contains the general truth, is utilized throughout the essay “Going Places” written by Jim Harrison. The literary device can make an audience relate and remember the text they read. Therefore, across the essay, the aphorisms included in the text allow advancement, understanding, and appreciation for the essay while continuing to learn from the ideas. Particular literary devices allow the writer to make opinions on subjects that help convince and persuade the audience to bluntly say the truth much like the characteristics of an aphorism.
The poem by Georgia Douglas Johnson, “Your World”, is the story of how big you make your world, do you want to stay in the corner all your life or do you want to go out and explore what you do not know? “Your world is as big as you make it. I know for I used to abide in the narrowest nest in a corner, My wings pressed close to my side.” (1-4) The author’s world was as small as could be in the beginning of the poem. This was when she didn’t want to get out and explore, but when she went out and explored, she came back happier and changed. “But I sighted the distant horizon where the skyline encircled the sea, and I throbbed with a burning desire to travel this Immensity . . . Then soared to the uttermost reaches with rapture, with power, with ease!” (5-12) She changed when she went on the journey. This also goes back to the hero’s journey, we see the calling, the transformation from the known to the unknown, and the return of the character, but she is
Many of the classical travel narratives of the past are presented with a main character, with the story revolving around their journey and experience in foreign places. Examples of the traditional way of travel writing are classics like Love and War in the Apennines by Eric Newby, which is about the writers’ journey to Italy and how he met different people, including his wife, throughout the trip (Dalrymple & Theroux, 2011). There are also recent books like Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert which talks about a middle-aged woman’s travel experience as well as her self-discovery during her trip to India. It is a traditional way of travel writing to be a personal narrative and focus on a hero or heroine. In this essay, I will talk about a piece of writing conforming to this idea and another that does not, they are, namely Triumph on Mount Everest by Stacy Allison and Why We Travel by Pico Lyer.
The world is a magnificent place that’s full of life and new places. Places that are waiting to be walked upon and viewed by the eye’s of travelers. To make new memories and go places that is beyond the walls of reality and new pathways of life. To truly experience the wonders that the world has to offer can be expressed by the life of one single person, setting off into the world to gain a higher purpose about the world. Traveling individually enables people to broaden their minds and accumulate new ideas and new experiences both nationally and internationally. By setting off into the world a person has the ability to learn so many new things, but also find so much about themselves while in the process of traveling.